WASHINGTON, December 18, 2018 — Today, national business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) reacted to a new report by the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) on the potential impact of an extreme scenario of accelerated power plant retirements on grid reliability. 

"Today’s report should be viewed in context. As NERC itself states, the report looks at unlikely scenarios that go far beyond either announced or projected power plant retirements to determine at what point there might be some risk for reliability,” said Jeff Dennis, general counsel for regulatory affairs at AEE.

“The report does not provide evidence of any imminent threat to the reliability of the bulk power system. Nor does it suggest that competitive wholesale energy markets aren’t up to the job of ensuring reliability as the resource mix changes,” said Dennis.

“What we have seen from numerous studies, and from the daily experience of grid operations from Texas to the Mid-Atlantic, is that competitive wholesale energy markets are doing an effective job of keeping the lights on. What we are also seeing in those markets is that advanced energy resources like wind, solar, demand response, and energy efficiency are making the grid more diverse and more reliable than ever while keeping costs low for consumers and businesses,” said Dennis.